Aren’t I graceful?
The weekends are such a welcome time of the week. Saturday, we spend the time at our swim lesson as she continues to gain confidence in her back float and going “under!” Going to Cousin Kelly’s house with Morgan and Nyla made for a completely fulfilling day. The girls are getting closer, and I desire for them to be true “sisters” in time. Each of the gals brings such a uniqueness to our family; Morgan with her passion for horses and reading and Nyla with her love of golf. They both are so kind and enjoyable. Plus they ooze integrity and love for Jesus. It’s so contagious.
Sunday, I get to dress Tatum up and enjoy fellowship with friends, family, and of course Jesus. It is also a reunification of Tatum’s time with her mommy as I relish every moment with her. It’s hard to believe that she will be ONE year old in five days.
This once little Tot is soon to be moving on FOOT! Today, she decided to show off for mom with ….The takeoff….
…and landing with the “Aren’t I graceful, Mom?” pose.
Starbucks was a huge excitement upon church today also. We got to visit with “Auntie” Nancy who we just adore. Nancy has been our little angel from almost day one; Nancy and I have so much in common with our kids, and I am so grateful for her in my life.
But, where would I be without my dearest mom?
Moving in with her was the best/hardest thing I ever have done. We are basically on top of each other with the remodeling of the kitchen and the addition of a room to the patio. In fact, the chaos of the house only adds to the need to develop patience and tolerance. Since Tatum came along, God just decided to throw all the chaos and “discomfort” to my life; injury, moving, remodeling…..etc.. Some would say, “Man, that is so unfair and difficult!” I would say, “Thank you, Lord for allowing all of this to develop my character, to develop my relationship with my mother, AND to bring me closer to you for dependence.”
CONTROL: it’s such an illusion. I have none, and since Tatum has come, I have seen that for the more that I desire to make perfect and do myself, the less I can do right. Therefore, God allows this discomfort and “chaos” to enter my life to almost force me to depend on him. I have two choices: Let go, pray, and accept the beauty of change OR grip tight onto my need to control, increasing my frustration and misery. It’s not a hard choice. Not easy, but simple.
Finally, I must say, this week was made even better with my dinner (OUT!) with Denise (thank God for girlfriends), and my BFF, Jocelyn. I had a disconcerting text mid-week, and immediately, I texted Jocy with this. This beautiful, dearest friend of mine checked on me and reached out to me to make sure I was OK. Truly….beautiful friend and sister.
Choose to focus on the GOOD. Again, not easy, but SIMPLE. 🙂
Day 15 of KAOS
Shiny shoes and sharing some staring
With Bob at church
Happy Veteran’s Day
Tesseract Community Outreach (TCO day) took place on Friday, November 8, 2013. Twice a year, our entire student body spends the day doing something community-minded in order to serve something/someone outside ourselves.
The 7th graders spent the day interviewing War Veterans (from various wars) and recording the interviews. We will be transcribing these interviews and delivering them to the Library of Congress when we visit in April. Here are last year’s interviews:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/search?query=ted+strickland&field=all
One of the Veterans, Fred Quick, was a BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) gunner from WWII! (He is pictured here with Sgt Ben Luoma who is holding Fred’s Purple Heart and magazine from the rifle)
He noted that he had to carry over 40 lbs worth of artillery. At 150 lbs, that was more than 1/3 of his weight. He was not allowed to carry his gun into school, but I had a chance to hold it. Definitely a power house!
The kids reflected on the day and were overwhelmed with gratitude and understanding of the plight of these Veterans. We appreciate them fighting FOR US. 🙂
A year ago today……
This wonderful child was celebrated in vitro. Now….it’s a reality; A year ago this Saturday, Tatum was “toasted” into existence. 
Little did I know that this diaper cake would be so extremely appreciated!
I cannot believe that it was only one year ago that Tatum has gone from a dream to a one year-old angelic miracle. 
She will be one-year old in 13 days, and the best is yet to come. The only thing I can think about right this minute is the gratitude I feel through ever fiber of my being; friends praying for me; family being patient with me; friends finding me ever supply needed and then some; my church being there for me when I did not know what to do; my mom being my best friend and biggest HELP. Moreover, if it was not for “Toasting Tatum” as we did on November 8, 2012, I would not have been reunited with many old acquaintances and my best friend of all time, Jocelyn. As blessings continue to flow, the hard pressures and immense stress melt away (or I choose to not focus on them.)
Thank you God for your provisions. 🙂
Teething times two and Tantrums!
Her two top teeth are breaking through the skin. Just typing that, I cringe in pain. The great thing about teething is that I can blame all her fussiness, nose-running, diaper rashes etc on this…. Sure.
So, teething tabs to the rescue. First, let’s read the label…Ahhh “Natureopathic” OK. Should work, right?
Tada!
OK.. now we are ready for church.
No fussy baby allowed. Our usual routine is to arrive for the singing and partake in the melodies! Upon that, we get to meet and greet and Tatum can practice her, “HI!”
The smile….. Little does she know we are going to ATTEMPT the infant nursery. 
To my chagrin…..She lasted about 1 minute and then literally screamed her head off until I came. She is used to her friends at Temple Chai (her daycare) but not at City of Grace yet! ….so, I rescued her and we retired to the “Serenity” room. They have a screen and couches. While “listening” I can play with her on the floor. Curious Tatum covers the perimeter of the room and scopes it out. She is reaching for the staaaaa…ok, not so much…the knob.
